Anti-viral drugs will be made available to all key workers with the Greater London Authority to protect against the asian bird flu outbreak.
About £1m has been spent on the drugs to protect up to 100,000 public sector workers including police officers, transport workers and firefighters.
The move came after the United Nations warned that preventative action must be taken immediately to prevent the fast mutating virus from killing millions of people.
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The deal for the drug Tamiflu, produced by Roche, aims to secure the capital’s essential services and economy if a pandemic occurs. The stock of Tamiflu is expected to arrive within two months. It has been bought by Transport for London on behalf of all key workers in the Greater London Authority.
London mayor, Ken Livingstone, said the purchase was likely to be part of a nationwide scheme to give anti-viral drugs to key workers.
